There are idiots on every side of the aisle:
A public school prohibited a second grader from singing a religious song at a talent show, prompting a lawsuit Friday alleging violation of the girl
by John Cole| 63 Comments
This post is in: General Stupidity
There are idiots on every side of the aisle:
A public school prohibited a second grader from singing a religious song at a talent show, prompting a lawsuit Friday alleging violation of the girl
This post is in: Politics
The Instapundit links to this Frank Cagle piece about the amateurish way some Tennessee legislators accepted bribes, and it reminded me of this quote from the Aviator:
Jack Frye: You want me to bribe senators?
Howard Hughes: I don’t want them bribed, Jack. I want this done legal. I want them BOUGHT.
by John Cole| 33 Comments
This post is in: General Stupidity
This is a doozy:
On Monday this week, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (I
by John Cole| 26 Comments
This post is in: Politics
Yesterday, in response to this post on the filibuster and this post on Arthur Andersen, a certain individual excoriated me in the comments, stating:
You amaze me with your hypocrisy. Here we have a judge who made a completely false interpretation of the law, gave bad jury instructions, and it ended with the destruction of one of America’s oldest accounting firms, sending thousands into unemployment.
And yet, per you, it’s wrong for Republicans to try to get strict constructionists onto the appeals court?
Now, if there were instances of AA breaking the law as you seem to believe, why was this particular case tried, when it utterly hinges on the bad jury instructions? I’m not trying to absolve either Enron or AA of criminal activity, but it’s ridiculous that one effed-up judge can wreak that much havoc with a stinking interpretation.
Don’t give me that “I know more than you do” answer, either. If there are fireworks in the offing, then hit us with them. We’re adults.
The activist judge who created the flawed jury instructions, which certainly helped to create an absolutely certain guilty verdict against Arthur Andersen, was one US District Judge Melinda Harmon:
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the June 2002 Houston jury verdict and the rulings of U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon.
In October 2002, Harmon sentenced Andersen to the maximum: a $500,000 fine and five years’ probation. But well before that time, the charges decimated the once-powerful Big Five firm.
Some background on Harmon:
According to a memo, Judge Melinda Harmon, a Republican appointee, “does not like women to wear pants in court.”
Harmon’s ruling was upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals:
It was a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel whose other members are Judges Thomas Reavley and Fortunato Benavides.
Higginbotham, a Dallas-based jurist, noted the import on the decision, saying, “Today we decide one of the many cases arising from the rubble of Enron Corp., which fell from its lofty corporate perch in 2001 wreaking financial ruin upon thousands of investors, creditors and employees.
“Like a falling giant redwood, it took down with it many members of its supporting cast.”
The opinion ruled Harmon did not substantially err in her rulings on evidence, jury instruction or the behavior of prosecutors.
“The conviction of Arthur Andersen was an important milestone in promoting responsible corporate behavior and respect for the law,” said Andrew Weissmann, director of the Enron Task Force and lead prosecutor on the Arthur Andersen trial.
Some background on Judge Patrick Higginbotham:
In 1964 he went into private practice with the Dallas, Texas firm of Coke & Coke, where his work was focused upon trials and appeals, with one stint as a special prosecutor. In 1975 President Gerald Ford appointed him to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, making him the youngest sitting federal judge in the United States. In 1982 he was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by President Ronald Reagan, and continues to serve on that court.
Clearly, something must be done about all these damned liberal activist judges.
In the interest of full disclosure, Thomas Reavley and Fortunato Benavides are Carter and Clinton appointees, respectively.
This petty war on judges, from both sides of the aisle, but most recently from the over-wrought cries of judicial activism from my party, has just got to stop. The law is not always clear cut, and there will always be instances when reasonable people disagree on certain decisions, and there will always be instances when Judges get it wrong.
However, attempting to undermine faith in the Court system simply to advance a narrow partisan agenda is cynical, misguided, and wrong for America. We saw this with the smearing of all the Florida Judges in the Schiavo affair, many of whom were conservative appointees, and it simply has to stop.
And, like Forrest Gump, that is all I have got to say about that.
by John Cole| 17 Comments
This post is in: Foreign Affairs
I don’t know how to say “No!” in Flemish, but the Dutch sure as hell do:
Dutch voters rejected the European Union constitution on Wednesday, exit polls showed, deepening a crisis in the bloc and possibly dooming the treaty after fellow EU founding member France rejected it on Sunday.
Interview/NSS projected the “No” camp had won 63 percent of votes based on an exit poll to 37 percent for the “Yes.”
The resounding “No” is the latest sign of Dutch anger with the political elite since the 2002 murder of anti-immigration populist Pim Fortuyn, with unease stoked by last year’s killing of a filmmaker critical of Islam.
The rejection of the charter by the Netherlands, like France one of the six countries that founded the bloc in the 1950s, could deliver a fatal blow to the treaty designed to make the EU run better following its enlargement from 15 to 25 states.
It also casts doubt on the EU’s hopes for a more muscular foreign policy and its plans to expand further to the Western Balkans, Turkey and Ukraine, and raises questions about its appetite for economic reform amid mounting global competition.
There will never be a United States of Europe. I said that 12-15 years ago as a Poli. Sci. undergrad, and I still believe it today.
by John Cole| 32 Comments
This post is in: Media
This is interesting:
Could there be any odder couple than Rush Limbaugh and Al Sharpton?
Not if I have anything to do with it.Last week – after Matrix Media announced a deal for Sharpton to host a “Limbaugh of the Left”-type talk radio show – the conservative radio star said he’ll think about mentoring the minister in the finer points of the medium.
Yesterday, Sharpton contacted me to say he’s eager to accept the sort-of offer to (as Limbaugh put it on his own show Friday) “let [Sharpton] guest-host the program for, like, 30 minutes at a time while I am sitting here critiquing him.”
Sharpton told me: “I was a little surprised, but I’m willing to take him up on his speculative offer. I think it would be interesting. It would be something that both of us can learn from. He can learn some of the thoughts of the left, and I can learn some of the techniques of the right. Let’s see if he’s serious.”
Yesterday Limbaugh’s producer, Kit Carson, assured me that he’s in earnest.
“At this point, Rush is still undecided,” Carson said. “He’s very flattered that Rev. Sharpton is interested in doing this. Rush is still considering giving him some pointers, some tutoring.
“Rush also believes that Rev. Sharpton has the best shot of anyone to be the Limbaugh of the Left. He is also very impressed that he has the humility to admit he has something to learn. … So we’ll see.”
For my part, I will do anything I can to make it happen.
Whatever you think about either one, it would be interesting.
by John Cole| 32 Comments
This post is in: Politics
If this Ben Stein piece and the links the Instapundit has collected are any indication, tempers are still very high about Watergae, and people are pissed at Mark Felt.
Personally, I think John Dean should still be in jail, and I still can not stand to see his smug, self-serving, preening face on television. The bastard arranged and knew about the break-in, lied to Nixon about it and gave him shitty legal advice, and then stabbed everyone in the back. I mean, if you want to talk about disloyalty, I would argue Dean would be the one you would point the finger at.